Originally Posted by
websterlewis
It may have been unclear in my post that this relates to - When I questioned Cathay - trying to get to the root of why they were charging so much tax for 5 x AA N/A segments and 4 x Qantas segments they stated that they were charging no fuel surcharges for AA North American flights (as in AA don't charge fuel surcharges).
Anyway, after a lot of pushing, a lot of moaning and finally asking to have the exact breakdown of figures e-mailed over I finally had the ticket re-issued for $150.00 in taxes (+ re-route fee) extra - down from quotes of $740.00 (+RRF) to $515 (+RRF) to the final figure in less than a week. Saved almost $600.00 but lost 5 flying days
To get back to the original thread - at least Cathay re-issued a pre-rule change ticket with no problem on that score.
And folks who'd rather keep the cash in their own coffers would be advised follow your lead - I've been a pussycat re these charges over the years ("they're the experts and must know what they're doing") but recently had a very similar experience.
If you ask them to itemize the charges, it appears that they either take the time to actually do the calculation, or at least lower their wild guess to something more palatable. I never got an explanation, just a sizable reduction, and it would appear you didn't get an accounting either. I seriously believe they have no clue and just throw together whatever they feel like.